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"Yeah, it's obviously been an interesting year from a media standpoint. I made a statement about my stance on pornography back in March and it's been really awesome to have so many people supporting me with that throughout this time," Willis told TVNZ's Breakfast.

"It's something I didn't want to focus too much on as I got into the Olympics.

"It's been really awesome to get probably a thousand different people in the few months since that time to say, 'hey, that really meant a lot, this is something that we are dealing with in our family, this has really encouraged us' ... I have had a huge amount of support with that."

Willis also took time to talk about his performance on the track and the lasting legacy he's helped maintain.

"New Zealanders as a whole, they love the 1500m, I don't know why," he said, adding that he had been "forced into" running the event, having started out wanting to excel at the 800m.

"But people really, really love this event and it's just been a privilege to represent all of you back home in Aotearoa.

"I'm trying to keep the tradition going from Lovelock, Snell, Walker, Davies, Dixon ... all of the great names that just roll off the tongue in New Zealand sporting folklore."